Phileosophie

I have learnt so much in the past 3 weeks. The most recent week has been a dream come true - working with DrF, observing him, getting to know him a little and learning from him. This AM his Fellow was busy so I was the only person with him while he saw patients in the clinic! This apparently has never happened before because he is always accompanied. It would not seem spectacular to anyone else but to me it was a huge privilege, to be the only person to help with the foot rest and sphygmo. Yea, so you may laugh at me, but we all have different dreams. We also had an ECG tutorial this afternoon with DrZ and I feel like I have learnt a lot in this aspect as well. I was able to answer most questions today as compared to previous weeks when I did not understand what the other students were talking about. I also received a lead about an academic topic that I have been interested in for a while but have been quite stumped with so I will pursue this further. I love being here in New York.

Today has been just incredible. Not mind-blowing or stuff like that but you know, to be able to wake up every morning and be excited about work - to want to work so much with the people you have to work with, to have the privilege of observing DrF and learn bits about what makes him the best cardiologist in the world (unofficial title but as far as I know, no other cardiologist has his qualifications, experience and awards) - all this is just remarkable and somehow all this has happened to me. I rarely stop and think about how all this has happened because I don't want to figure it out and mess up the train of fortunate events but my life has really been incredible, and if you look at where it all started - this could have happened to anyone. But it happened to me. My housemate left for Germany this afternoon and I really loved staying with her - she was welcoming when I arrived, friendly, and a really lovely person (also very pretty and I have to say good looking housemates

I try to spend time outside hospital and my apartment every weekend. After all, these 3.5 months are going to fly by and I didn't come here just to do more medicine. This weekend I test-drove my new down-filled winter coat from Landsend. It kept me remarkably warm and is without a doubt the warmest coat I own. I need to find some snow boots ASAP as snow is expected any moment now and the ground will be too sludgy for normal shoes. Bouchon Bakery. This picture belongs to ulterior epicure . Gorgeous macarons. I had a chocolate hazelnut. A girl behind me said the caramel ones are awesome too. For another review of the bakery click here . This picture belongs to theadirondackchick.com.  Today I also finally had the chance to try a macaron and coffee from Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle. They were very good, which isn't surprising since the bakery is owned by Thomas Keller who also owns the ultra pricey Per Se upstairs. I then met a waiter

Edit: This post is not in chronological order. Whoops! Lion King happened a while ago, Santacon was in the AM and Il Bastardo/UCB was in the PM. So as promised here's an update: Watched The Lion King on Broadway with the Google folks. I love visiting my friends at Google HQ. The food is great and the HQs are such fun buildings to be in. My mum and brother watched the Lion King in Sydney a few years back and seemed to love it but for some reason I always imagined it as a play with people in mascot costumes so never watched it myself. However when my friend offered to PAY me to watch it with them I thought it was an offer too good to resist! Mufasa (right) & Scar (left) in a heated disagreement. The verdict - it was enjoyable. I was particularly impressed by the young actors (Aubrey Omari Joseph & Chondra La-Tease Profit). I think it's great to see young people pursue their passions and receive amazing world-stage sort of opportunities. Unfortunately we often

There is a doc at hosp who looks like a younger, thinner Adam Sandler, one who looks like a taller, thinner Wilson (from House MD) and one who looks like a rugged Darren Criss. Must be an American thing. Adam Sandler (left), Robert Leonard (center), Darren Criss (right).

To every problem, is a solution because if there isn't a solution, then it wasn't a problem to begin with. I have certain principles.. well, I've got lots really. They're just ways of life that I've conjured up or collected along the way to help me navigate this one life we have. One of these principles is to know when I should follow the path of least resistance. By this I don't mean that we shouldn't work hard or walk the long and narrow.. I just think that life has its way of guiding us to a point of best fit. There is no one thing that we were meant to do in life. There are options and personally, I've always found it hard to reconcile the options in my life because all seem pretty exciting but sometimes, when life closes a door, it is simply saying, walk through the other. Sure the sting of having one door shut (sometimes in your face) may hurt a bit, and sometimes it is a little embarassing. But think of how much time we will waste if we h

I started on the ward today. I dont think they call it a ward here because 'everyone has individual rooms'. We call it a ward in Sydney anyway.. just one with individual rooms. So the first real day was nice. Students are generally friendly and most seem to be visiting students. There is only one home-student on my ward. Perhaps they are all off on winter vacation or something. There are also two lady doctors from India who are here on an observership - which isn't too different from what I'm doing to be honest. I was under the impression that I would be allowed to do stuff but some doctors seem to have a MSH student-only policy. I'm not sure if this is correct because as far as I know, that's the difference between an observership and an elective - one gets to do hands on. The doctors in general are welcoming and friendlier than doctors in Sydney. Doctors in Sydney are nice but Australians usually appear disinterested and fairly unimpressed with most things.

I finally got some $$ from the bank, which is releasing my money in trickles. I can finally afford toiletries - yay. Might even be able to pick up comfortable shoes at some point. The weather was just brilliant today. After a slightly rocky start at hospital (in the midst of exam prep I had forgotten to fill out some forms) I had the rest of the day off and decided to take a walk through Central Park. While at the park, a cute little Indian toddler took a liking to me and started following me around so I struck up a conversation with her mother. Central Park in autumn (taken from http://alwayslookingoutthewindow.blogspot.com)  Anyway, I ended up at Wholefoods at the basement of Time Warner Centre where I finally found dark soy sauce. I'd almost given up hope since Gourmet Garage and Associated only carry light soy... while at the Asian food aisle, an older gentleman struck up a conversation, asking about some varieties rice he wanted to try. I subsequently found out he ha

New York is a city that grows on you. I have been here a week now and am getting acquainted with the more interesting parts of this city. Yesterday my new friends Pierre and Reinaldo took me out for brunch at Garage in the West Village. Apparently brunch is a 'very New York thing to do'.. except that brunch in New York lasts from 11AM to 3 in the afternoon! I quite liked the place - a live jazz band played on the ground floor and for $6/- you get 2 hours worth of alcohol (Mimosas, Screwdrivers, Bloody Marys or.. in my case, OJ). The food was good as well - I had a lobster sandwich while the boys had variants of egg. We then strolled along the Hudson River which was a lovely break from all the steel and glass that makes up Manhattan. Reminded me of RK, a New Yorker I'd met in Sydney who had enthusiastically showed me on a map where he lived (facing the Hudson River). At the time I couldn't really appreciate the reasons behind his enthuasiasm.. after all, he was fac

I went out and ran errands this morning, then came back for a 'nap' which lasted till 1130PM. Dannnggiit jetlag. You're not being cool. I am watching the Lion King at 8PM Friday which means I *should* be awake for it but at the rate I'm going.... Anyway.. I also met a cute banker today... and then he invited me to a party on Saturday. Which was nice. But then he reassured me that I didn't have to worry and he wasn't going to "hit on me" because he was gay. -_- oh well. Still over 3 months to go.. haha

Hollywood is in the business of selling dreams. They don't tell you how to get there but for a few hundred each year you can buy temporary hope which will tide you over till hopefully one day you make it.

You know, for a trip as anticipated as this one I really don’t think I have anything substantial to say… yet. The thing is, life in America isn’t as comfortable as it is elsewhere. Perhaps it is because this is New York and New York isn’t supposed to be comfortable. But I’m not really sure why tourists visit Manhattan. It doesn't seem to be a city for tourists. Maybe I am just being sombre because I'm kinda on my own here. Life tastes better when it's shared. I feel like I just haven’t really gotten my head around Manhattan yet so I’m going to give you a 1 st impressions run-down in point form. Shops – there are thousands of shops here. And clothes can be quite cheap. Yesterday I spotted a pair of walking shoes that I’ve been thinking about for ages. It would have cost maybe $70 in Australia but was only $21 here. Shopping however seems to make up most of what there is to do in Manhattan but there aren't many shopping malls... it's mostly little shops

I am now in the MSH library - soaking due to miserable NYC weather. This place feels really familiar but I can't place my finger on the reason for this feeling. I suppose having lived in so many countries, things are starting to confluent and overlap. I heard DrF's voice today in the next room when I was talking to his assistant. In 10 years I would like to be DrF. Or at least close to being like him. By that I mean I would like to be at the top of my game. Almost every doctor is going to make a difference in life but I think the higher you climb, the greater the impact you have. I want my life to count. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.  Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

Today I've been trying to work through all the different accounts and policies I have accumulated over the years. It's so annoying when the total amount you have in one account equals or is exceeded by the account's annual fee! haha Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what a 'Superannuation' account really is and where my limited amount of money is and who-gets-what if I die and stuff like that. It's putting me to sleep. Each policy has sooo many words and it just makes me feel like all these funds and companies are out to confuse me so they can steal all my money and not pay anything later. =( Le sigh. I need a man who'll look after the business side of my life.

Here's another awesome music video from Glee featuring Darren Criss and the Warblers. This guy is amazing. Great voice and his character on glee is very likeable. For more HQ videos check out Darren Criss' website. Hopefully he will stick around for a while. Entertainers tend to come and go I think - all the popular ones these days (Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars) weren't around when I was a teenager and probably won't be around when I hit 30 (which is a FARRR way off thankfully!) but I like the feel of this guy so I hope his career goes well.

It's that time of the year again! I take my new year resolutions quite seriously. At the end of each year I usually have a sit down session to think about how the year has unfolded and where I should take my life in the coming year. I think about goals I want to achieve and list five or six pretty specific ones down. This year for example, one goal was to get published. Another was to make arrangements to visit America and that's the trip that's coming up. I think new year resolutions are important because life tends to get so busy and when you're in the midst of all that it's easy to lose sight of your goals, much less set any new ones. And I think goals are important. They give you direction... and direction is important because we're all going to die someday and at least for me, I want my 70 years to make a difference, somehow. Anyway, I don't know what my 2012 resolutions will be yet.. usually I write them on my annual plane ride to wherever but tha

MY EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (thanks for asking)... SO.. as promised, the posts should hopefully get more interesting from here on. First up, is a new reality TV show in Australia called 'Young Doctors'. It revolves around what a few junior doctors get up to at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. I watched an episode because I couldn't think of how my life (or one similar to mine) would be remotely interesting to watch. I was right.. it wasn't. Not any of the doctors' faults of course.. it's just, watching it on tv is like having my day recorded and then summarised in the most appalling fashion and then watching it over dinner. It was a snooze fest... and completely unrealistic. Consultant: "So Dr. X what do you think this patient has?" Junior Doctor: "I think he has appendicitis." I think the point here was for the audience to go "wow, this doctor really knows what she's doing." but firstly, that's not how

One day to my exams - this is how I feel. (excited and jittery if you couldnt get it from the music video)

Just two short days away from my exams! One of the things I've had to prepare is some background information on laboratory investigations we observed during the year. I chose the really common ones, in part because it would potentially be easier to talk about but largely because I felt it would be more useful to my career in the long run! I mean, if I'm going to have to work on this (I dont like technical work much!) then it might as well be useful. SO, one of the techniques I chose to read about was flow cytometry . It is the method used by labs to process Full Blood Counts which is possibly the most common investigation ordered at a hospital. I hadn't had much luck finding good information about this investigation till today when I came across this website (click!). Those of you interested in technology and physics and all that can also click on the screenshot I've included below (goes to the same site).

I was just thinking that I'd really like to visit my grandma soon. Ideally, I'd love to meet my family more often but as a student, both time, but more importantly, finances are tight. But my grandma's definitely not getting any younger and she's always been really nice to us so I'd really like to visit her when I can. Unfortunately, the next possible time is the end of 2012. I wish it could be sooner but med school imposes time constraints. Somehow that feels like a rather poor excuse but it's a real one. My grandma lives by this river (picture) which can be found on Borneo island (oldest island in the world). The village used to be a bit more under-developed with wooden buildings and all that, and we could only get there by boat but it's become much more developed now and you can fly there in a tiny 12-seater twin otter or drive from Miri which is a small city nearby. It's definitely a gorgeous place though and I'm glad I have some links (albie

It's another STUNNING Sydney day in the very lucky country . Remind me again why I'm trying to get away? Seriously though, I got up this morning and realised I had run out of milk so I made my way to the little corner shop and decided, what the heck! I think I deserve a coffee too. One of the best things about travelling so much is that it makes me appreciate the day-to-day that I might otherwise have taken forgranted. To wake up every morning to the shimmering sea, and fall asleep at night to the roar of the waves - that is something I will never get used to. Living here has mellowed me because it has bombarded me with so many things to be grateful for.  Ahhh, life is good in the lucky country . (Remind me why I'm trying to leave again? )

This is a drum cover of Chiddy Bang by my super handsome friend Anthony G. We met when he was on exchange in Sydney but he's back in Washington being the super cool drummer of Seattle-based band ' To Paint The Sky '. You can check out his other covers on YouTube .

Sorry about that really boring previous post on neuroanatomy. haha. Today isn't heaps better but I promise that once these exams are over I will endeavor to entertain a bit more (or maybe I'll be so busy having fun that you won't hear about any of it). Anyway, at least today I'm being outward-looking. Literally. My neighbours were fixing the fence between our properties today. It reminded me of ' Mending Wall ' which is a poem by Robert Frost. Good fences make good neighbours. I would have gone to help but I don't usually leave the house before exams. Even if I'm totally done studying.. like now. I just sit home, stew, veg and pretend that the knowledge in my head is deepening like fine wine.. or christmas cake. Also, given how much time I have, I've begun to think about silly things.. like how much caffeine there is presently in my blood stream. Surely there is a way to measure this? Sort of like how the cops have breathalyzers to measure alc

When the going gets tough, don't back off! It's 1159PM here and I'm still not really feelin it with neuroanatomy. All the Hollywood gossip I'm reading on the side isn't helping either. :-( Anyway, I've read through some new notes I received from a friend and I've been going through questions. Ideally I should be able to localise lesions in the central nervous system when I am given particular symptoms and having read through this topic about 3 times now I'm slowly starting to recognise certain signs, like 'bitemporal hemianopia' which is due to compression of the optic chiasm... so I've gone and looked at the anatomy of this region again.. and I've also gone back and looked at some notes I made in first/second year. It's amazing the stuff you find when you go back to basics. All these notes I made, which I probably didn't understand at the time, they make much more sense now and are such a great study resource for finals. Anyway

Anatomy has always been one of those areas in medicine that I've been wary off. It's remarkably important, being one of the core topics in medicine, but can be quite overwhelming given the number of tiny nerves, holes and muscles you have to remember. To make things worse, you also have to remember what each entity is connected to and how each part works. I have to admit I've managed to get away with a very rudimentry level of anatomical knowledge for a long time. For this exam I put anatomy off till the last minute (ie. now) as I tend to do because it's such a massive (and to be honest, low yield) topic. I mean, if you've got to sacrifice something than this would be the subject to go. But I've been working at it for the past 2 days now, trying to patch up the gaps in my knowledge and trying to teach myself in as entertaining a way as possible. I'm getting there slowly... it's an uphill climb across a treacherous terrain and I'm currently going

I really like this song. I think the lyrics are quite honest, almost poignent albiet in quite a bitter way, and while I haven't had a similar experience I think it puts into words what a lot of people would like to say to exes. Plus this girl has a great voice.

Sometimes I get bored studying and end up illustrating on MS Paint. These are the ones I made for my current exam. Myelofibrosis . Hematopoiesis is shifted away from the one marrow to areas such as the spleen, liver and lymph nodes. However, not all hematopoietic cells leave the marrow. About 10% remain but are abnormal. Megakaryocytes secrete fibroblast stimulating factor, resulting in the progression of diseases such as Polycythemia Rubra Vera to myelofibrosis. Red blood cells that remain in the bone marrow are now trapped by all the fibrous strands and are unable to get out of the marrow. Having squeezed through the fibrous strands, they end up damaged in a form called 'tear-drop cells' and these can be seen circulating in the peripheral blood. Caput medusae . My sister had this book on Greek mythology when we were kids. 'Caput medusae' has always reminded me of the namesake of this sign (associated with liver disease). The spleen is where red blood c

Theme song of NTV7 over a decade ago. Sheet music and lyrics here: http://www.smpi.se/grund/prov/dok/ifeelgood.pdf

I wanted to share this picture with you because I think it is gorgeous. It is a diagram of the brain and the first one I've come across that also incorporates the Circle of Willis (blood supply) in a fairly 3 dimensional way. I find it so much easier to understand something when I see it but unfortunately there aren't many good teaching diagrams around. I suppose not everyone will appreciate the beauty of this diagram. But perhaps that's because you do not understand it because if you did, you would realise what an elegant structure it is, what a miracle of design and physiology the human body is, and in fact, what a work of art our whole world is. Eduardo Saverin (an American-Brazilian investor) once posted a map of wind patterns and tornado movements on facebook. He called the tornado a 'beauty' and quite a few readers laughed at the caption thinking he was a little strange. But the thing is, as much as tornados can have a devastating impact on the human world (wh

A short film by Whitestone Motion Pictures on child prostitution. It has been written and filmed in the fantasy genre and plays like a deeper, darker version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I loved this film and I think you will too. For the campaigns website and trailer here: http://stopthecandyshop.com/ For the production company and full length film here: http://www.whitestonemotionpictures.com/

As you would know, one of my interests includes television production. A friend (Damian!) posted this video by Peter Jackson (Director of Lord of The Rings) on facebook. It is about the preproduction phase of The Hobbit which is being filmed in 3D! This film is expected to be released in December 2012 and I am REALLY looking forward to watching it.

I created this blog so that my friends, but mainly family would be able to keep track of my travels across North America. I've been wanting to visit this fine country for many years now and am so excited that The Trip is happening in less than 2 weeks! Standing between me and the most anticipated holiday of my life is the biggest exam I've ever sat so I will work on this blog in due course. Till then wish me luck and I'll be back!